Throwing it down Adelita’s Way

Years ago, Rick DeJesus, lead singer for Adelitas Way, and some friends took a trip to San Diego. The group planned on spending some time at the beach. Sounds innocent enough. But when they weren’t able to check into their hotel, things headed south very quickly. DeJesus and crew soon found themselves making the roughly 20-minute drive to Mexico.

He said a friend, whom he referred to in this story as an “idiot,” assured him it would be “OK.”

“I woke up getting arrested,” De Jesus said. “They gave me a breathalyzer with their hands and they robbed us.”

After that experience the group wanted to relax and went to a bar called Adelita, which they discovered on arrival, wasn’t just your average watering hole.

“It was a bordello,” DeJesus said bluntly.

He said while he was there he met one prostitute who was underage.

“I remember talking to her and getting to know her a little bit,” DeJesus said. “And I remember leaving Mexico feeling like ‘I’m never going to take anything for granted again.’ Like, I really need to appreciate all the small things in life.”

He looks back on that trip with heavy emotions saying it broke his heart seeing people live that way.

“Mexico sucks!” He said firmly before adding. “Not all of Mexico, but Tijuana really bummed me out.”

However, that experience will remain with them as the band ultimately named themselves Adelitas Way.

DeJesus said he wrote a song called “Adelita’s Song” about the experience, although it might never make an Adelitas Way album.

The band recently released its second album, “Homeschool Valedictorian,” and is embarking on a national tour.

The day before the band hit the road, DeJesus took some time to give us a call from his home in Las Vegas, and chat about the Vegas-based quartet.

Q. So, you are from Las Vegas?
A. Yes.

Q. Do people not believe you when you tell them that?
A. I feel people have the misconception of what living in Vegas is like. I live in a really nice area, away from the casinos, away from the strip and up near the lakes. A lot of people just assume you live in a casino or live near a casino, but Vegas is really a very beautiful town. It’s very clean, very affordable. I love it here.

Q. Well partying is pretty much the only thing that comes to my mind when you mention Vegas…
A. Don’t get me wrong there’s plenty of that. We do a couple nights a week where we throw down. There is always a lounge, a club or a show to go to. The strip is popping, there’s always fights in town, UFC, boxing. This is the place to be. This is where the party’s at. I don’t just sit up in the house and do nothing. We go out and have fun.

Q. How did you get into music with all of that going on?
A. I found myself naturally writing songs and that was something I just naturally loved to do. One day out in Vegas I snuck into a bar and I performed a little acoustic set I wrote. I was waiting for a beer bottle to get thrown at me but instead people clapped.

Q. How did you guys find your sound?
A. I think a lot of it goes by my voice. It’s very raspy but I can sing at the same time. So that was part of the goal, with the sound, was finding what I could and couldn’t do. I think the sound developed from that.

Photo courtesy of Adelitas Way

Q. Tell me a little bit about the new record. What was the goal with this one?
A. I think raise the bar higher for us and for our fans. We had a lot of great support on the first album and there’s been growth on the second album. The record’s been out for a couple months and its already sold more than our first, so obviously we are doing something right. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, we threw down on this album. We put a record together that we are proud of and that I love. We worked really, really hard on it and we made something special.

Q. I saw the video for the first single, “Sick,” it looks intense. Was that real fire going on around ya’ll?
A. Yes it was and I actually caught fire, which wasn’t very fun.

Q. I heard you guys tour in a van. Why?
A. Not anymore. We are finally out of that (laughs). We toured in the van for a lot of years and it was tough but it paid off.

Q. Any memorable moments from touring in that van?
A. There’s a million. We got arrested at the border in El Paso. It all makes it worth it. I have fun going on tour. We toured the entire country for almost five years and I plan on doing five more.

Q. Just five?
A. I hope more than that but that’s the number we already did and five more sounded good (laughs)

Q. So I take it you’ve upgraded to a bus?
A. Oh yeah. We get to play video games. That is the big thing.

Q. Last question. What can we expect from your show?
A. We are going to throw it down. When you walk away you are going to say, “He told me they were going to throw down, and they did.”